[AZ-Observing] Re: Comet Holmes and Alpha Persei
- From: "Fran McHugh" <mcqz@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 20 Nov 2007 09:24:46 -0700
I've been observing the comet for the past week with my new
10x50 Celestron Ultima DX binoculars. Our little town offers
pretty dark skies right outside the back door, as long as I
remember to turn off the motion detector lights.
Last week I could point out the comet to friends and family
and they could find it fairly easily with averted eye. Of
course they were blown away by the view through the binos
once they knew where to look.
Now, I can just barely make out the comet with naked eyes
after my eyes have fully adjusted, 20 - 30 minutes, using
averted eye. However, the view through the 10x50s is still
spectacular.
The Celestron binos are fantastic! I've only been able to
compare them to locally available models in possession of
my friends, but they bring out so much more detail and are
so sharp all the way to the edge that there is no comparison.
I especially like the twist up eyecups, which simplify the
sharing process. Since my glasses correct both eyes to a
close approximation of 20x20, I can hand off the binoculars
to someone with good vision and all that is necessary is
a couple of twists - no re-focus. The focusing knob is a
little bit tight, but it seems to be loosening up with use.
I also got the tripod adapter which works well, but only for
relatively low viewing. Above about 45 degrees, the tripod
gets in the way! I guess now I need to get a tripod adapter
adapter or make something to stabilize the view when handheld.
The binos, the little ETX-90, and my Sky Scout w/green laser
will get a workout tomorrow evening at our small star party
at Homolovi State Park. The temp is supposed to get down to
40F by midnight, so we'll be bundled up but the viewing has
been spectacular from that site. The only problem is figuring
out which star is which with the myriad "new" ones added
to the mix!
Clear Skies!
Fran
-----Original Message-----
From: az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:az-observing-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Rotramel, Rick
(AZ77)
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2007 9:04 AM
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [AZ-Observing] Comet Holmes and Alpha Persei
All,
I took a peek at the comet last night from my backyard a bit north of
Metrocenter in Phoenix. I struggled to see it naked eye with a 10 day
moon washing out the already light polluted sky.
Using the 11x80's though, revealed the huge coma right next to alpha
Per. I estimated the coma at a half degree in size. The thing seemed to
squeeze through a dark path with a pair of stars on the north and aPer
on the south right at the southern edge of the coma. Pretty neat.
Even in a moon washed-out sky, the comet still looks amazing, with the
jet/fountain thing still shinning brightly in the middle. How long will
this go on? You'd think this release would run out of "steam" after a
while!
I will continue to watch this thing and see what goes on as the solar
wind does its thing with the comet dust and gas.
Rick R.
SAC
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